ERIC TRAPPIER

About ERIC TRAPPIER

Éric Trappier is one of France’s most prominent aerospace and defense executives. He currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Aviation, where he leads a strategic industrial group known for its combat aircraft, business jets and space systems. His name is closely associated with the Rafale program, a flagship of French industrial capability, and with Dassault Aviation’s major export and industrial strategy. He is also connected to Thales, a key electronics and defense partner within the industrial Rafale ecosystem. Trappier joined Dassault Aviation in the early 1980s and built his career entirely within high-technology aerospace, taking on progressively broader responsibilities across sales, industry and executive management. Thales documents indicate that he was appointed Executive Vice President of Dassault Aviation in 2006 before later assuming the group’s top leadership role. As head of Dassault Aviation, he has established a reputation as a long-term industrial leader committed to French sovereignty, the preservation of critical skills and technological mastery. His leadership is grounded in a strategic vision of autonomy, emphasizing the company’s ability to design, build, support and upgrade combat aircraft. In 2022, he announced an industrial agreement with Airbus on the next phase of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), underscoring Dassault Aviation’s central role as architect of Europe’s future combat aircraft. His tenure has also been defined by the global expansion of the Rafale, with major export wins in the United Arab Emirates, India, Qatar and Greece. These contracts strengthened Dassault Aviation’s standing in the international combat aircraft market and demonstrated his ability to combine industrial execution, economic diplomacy and operational discipline. In parallel, he has supported research, innovation and industrial modernization initiatives, including the MOLIERE laboratory on innovative materials and the upgrade of production facilities. Trappier is also known for a governance style built on rigor, continuity and strong French industrial roots, with close attention to public authorities, state customers and the wider supply chain. His career makes him a benchmark executive in European aerospace and defense.